This electronic brochure highlights our capabilities
and activities in the area of the U.S. Army TARDEC Fuels and Lubricants
Research.
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For additional
information, e-mail
Gary B.Bessee, Southwest Research Institute.

U.S.
Army TARDEC Fuels and Lubricants Research

For more than 50 years, the U.S. Army TARDEC Fuels
and Lubricants Research Facility (TFLRF) at Southwest Research Institute®
(SwRI®) has provided state-of-the-art research, development and engineering
services for the U.S. Army’s fuels and lubricants needs. The government-owned
contractor-operated (GOCO) facility provides technical support services and
helps to develop and maintain the Army’s specifications for fluids used in
ground equipment. TFLRF functions as an extension of the U.S. Army Automotive
and Armaments Command (TACOM) Petroleum and Water Business Area in Warren, Mich.
Operated by the Fuels and Lubricants Research Division on the grounds of
Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, the facility reports to the
U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC)
in Warren, Mich.

The U.S. Army built the facility at SwRI as a
stand-alone laboratory complex with capabilities for engine testing and
analytical chemistry experiments. The Armed Services’ need for engineering
support in fuels and lubricants for their growing fleet of military vehicles and
related ground support equipment was the impetus for establishing the facility.
The capabilities parallel, on a smaller scale, the commercial capabilities
available at SwRI. As the partnership between the Army and SwRI evolved, the
Army increasingly has depended on the Institute’s commercial facilities for the
more standardized evaluations, and the TFLRF has become more focused on custom
projects.

Since 1949, Southwest Research
Institute has been engaged in automotive-related research and has become a
recognized global leader in automotive research and development for both
government and industrial clients.

The facility is a unique resource where a highly
trained and experienced staff perform integrated fuels, lubricants and engine
systems research and development programs involving combustion, performance
characterization, engine cleanliness, vulnerability assessments and tribology.
Augmented by the Institute’s diverse workforce of more than 3,300 and its
facilities, which includes more than 2 million square feet of laboratories and
offices on more than 1,200 acres, TFLRF’s capabilities range from fundamental
investigations to field-validating testing and rapid response problem solving.

Efforts early on by the TFLRF led to changes and
developments of new procedures and requirements subsequently adopted by
commercial industry. Those initial results from the partnership included:

Identifying causes and chemistry of engine
sludge and deposit formation

For more than 50 years, the U.S. Army
TARDEC Fuels and Lubricants Research Facility (TFLRF) has provided
state-of-the-art research, development and engineering services for the U.S.
Army’s fuels and lubricants needs.

The U.S. Army TARDEC Fuels and Lubricants
Research Facility on the SwRI grounds is a government-owned,
contractor-operated facility.

More recent projects include:

Development and fielding a fire-resistant JP-8
fuel for Army ground combat and tactical equipment that will
self-extinguish, helping to save lives, reduce severe burns and minimize
equipment loss by fire

Support for a project for the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency to qualify jet fuels made from non-petroleum
sources

Evaluating a variety of oil lifetime extension
approaches for Army ground vehicles

Conducting a study to assess the feasibility of
a single-specification, single-viscosity grade lubricant for military ground
vehicles

Turbine Combustion Facility

TFLRF houses a unique turbine combustion capability
that has been sized around the Army T-63 gas turbine engine. This facility:

Supports turbine combustion research focused on
fuel impacts on emissions and combustion system component durability

Simulates the combustion section of the T-63 or
other small gas turbines, or can run sectors from larger engines

In a demonstration of a potential
fire-resistant fuel, following ignition, the fuel sample in a barrel located
in the enclosure contained a suppressant that helped to extinguish the fire.

An outgrowth from the combustor work is a series of
benchscale facilities for assessing the formation of fuel-derived deposits on
turbine engine atomizers and other fuel system components. Because fuel-derived
deposits are the leading cause of turbine engine overhaul, the facility has
developed a number of techniques to assess the propensity of fuels to form
deposits and to evaluate engine hardware for deposition tendencies. In addition
to gasoline engine test stands, the TFLRF houses a number of diesel fuel
injection system test stands to evaluate the impact of the following on
injection system wear:

Low lubricity fuels

Fuel additives

Alternative fuel formulations

Lubricity and Filtration Studies on
Diesel Systems

Using a number of bench-wear test devices as well as
full-scale engine hardware, the laboratory is continuing to conduct research on
fuel lubricity and other fuel issues affecting diesel fuel injection system
durability. Fluid filtration is becoming increasingly critical to engine
durability as a result of high-pressure injection systems. Filtration for both
ground and aviation vehicle systems is particularly critical for military
operations in high dust environments. The TFLRF facility maintains capabilities
for assessing the performance of fuel filters and water separators, including an
SwRI-owned facility for assessing pipeline scale filtration performance.

Turbine combustion research is
focused on fuel impacts on emissions and combustion system component
durability.

In the area of fluids filtration, capabilities
include:

Fluid mechanics

Heat transfer

Sensor development

Liquid filtration

Contamination control and identification

Fuel and water logistics

Chemometric methods of analysis

Test methods development

Recent work has included the
development and fielding of a self-extinguishing fire resistant JP-8 fuel
for Army ground combat and tactical equipment. (Courtesy DOD)

In addition, projects in the following areas can be
conducted:

Fuel properties

Fuel combustion

Aviation fuels

Thermal stability

Specialty fluids

Renewable fuels

Fuel stability

Flammability

Alternative fuels

Aviation fuels and thermal stability

Additives

Greases

Combustion kinetics

Fuel storage

Distillate fuel peroxidation

TFLRF studies diesel fuel
contamination by extracting contaminants from clean and dirty fuel filters
from Army battle tanks. Possible sources of contamination range from
products of fuel degradation, to dirt and dust, to microbiological growth
such as fungus or yeast.

In fuels, lubricants and fluids technology, TFLRF
offers the following strengths:

TFLRF provides research, development and testing
services in the areas of filtration, contamination sensitivity assessment, and
real-time wear and oil consumption measurement in operating engines and
mechanical systems. TFLRF also performs evaluations of automotive and heavy-duty
engine and vehicle components and systems, including testing, analysis and
design, with emphasis on real-world operation and real-life laboratory
simulation.

Filtration and fine particle technology capabilities
include:

Filtration and environmental testing

Real-time engine wear and measurement

Test system development and component testing

Air filtration facility design and specification

Air filter test stand design and fabrication

Radiator performance investigation (with and
without contamination)

For the U.S. Army, SwRI is evaluating
the impact of operational environments, including the rigors of the desert,
improving processes and modernizing components aboard the CH-47 heavy-lift
helicopter to improve reliability and airworthiness. The team is also
evaluating rotor head and hinge pin components, as well as other systems and
subsystems.

Contamination Research

TFLRF operates in more than 26,000 square feet of
office and laboratory space, including 12 automated test cells dedicated to fuel
contamination research and testing. Of these cells, nine are dedicated to
gasoline/flexible fuel testing, two to diesel testing and one to hybrid fuel
cell testing. Using an automated fluid heating and cooling system, test
temperatures can be varied from -40 to 80 degrees C (-40 to 176 degrees F). Fuel
system and contamination research capabilities include:

Contaminant characterization

Accelerated life testing or key-life testing

Material compatibility

Modeling and simulation

Test procedure development

Lubricity, friction and wear

Environmental evaluation

Filtration

Emissions and safety issues

Component and systems development

While the TFLRF still predominantly supports the U.S.
Army, staff members are involved in a variety of projects to support all U.S.
military services and other government agencies such as the Department of
Energy, the Department of Defense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
and other commercial clients.

This brochure was published in September 2009. For more information about
the U.S. Army TARDEC Fuels and Lubricants Research, contact
Gary B. Bessee, Phone (210) 522-6941, Fax (210) 522-5270, Fuels and Lubricants Research Division,
Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.